Business Professional team lead - 12 month contract

Company description

About us

We believe in the power of ingenuity to build a positive human future in a technology-driven world.

As strategies, technologies and innovation collide, we create opportunity from complexity.

Our diverse teams of experts combine innovative thinking and breakthrough use of technologies to progress further, faster. Our clients adapt and transform, and together we achieve enduring results.

An innovation and transformation consultancy, we are 3,300 specialists in consumer and manufacturing, defence and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government and public services, health and life sciences, and transport. Our people are strategists, innovators, designers, consultants, digital experts, scientists, engineers and technologists. We operate globally from offices across the UK, US, Netherlands and Nordics.

Our hybrid way of working is designed to help you plan your work and your life. We want decisions about ‘where to work’ to be governed by ‘the work we need to do’ – whether that’s at client sites, offices/labs/studios, or remotely from home.

We have five principles which will help us balance both creating a high-performance culture that delivers for our clients and the firm, and being understanding and inclusive to individuals, and the teams in which we all work. Our principles are: we put your safety first; we trust PA people; we respect difference; we are responsive to clients and we are responsive to individuals and teams.

PA. Bringing Ingenuity to Life.

Job description

Our central business support function has been specially designed to support our capabilities and Go-To-Markets with support to Partners and generally ensuring the smooth running of the team, allowing our Partners and Consultants to focus on client projects.

Provide first class secretarial support to the lead of the Defence and Security Go-to-Market, work closely with them and the Strategic Operations Manager to support the smooth running of the Defence and Security Go-to-Market.

First point of contact for a wide range of personnel, providing support through a number of key activities listed below.

Leadership of the Beech Business Support Team of 11. Including but not limited to team building, mentoring, line management and guidance and performance management.

Working as part of a busy, business support team the role requires someone friendly, approachable, and confident who has great communication skills, preferably used to working in a team environment closely with other business support staff.  

Working closely with Partners, Consultants and external clients, the post is secretarial, administrative, and managerial.

Administrative lead for the defence and Secuirty go-to-market team and Full secretarial support to Defence and Security GO-TO-MARKET LEAD

• Diary Management - Organisation of complex diary and travel arrangements across multiple time zones and complying with visa requirements. Liaising with both internal and external clients, including senior stakeholders across PA.
• Inbox Management - Reviewing incoming e-mails/phone calls and dealing with these appropriately, gate keeping when needed.
• Time Management – Manage and prioritise workload, acting on your initiative to complete tasks.
• Submission of expenses - ensuring these are submitted promptly complying with company policy.
• Support to the wider consultant team - booking rooms and visitors, catering and travel booking support.
• High level support to the Defence and Security Go-to -Market (approx. 570 staff), including but not limited to:
  • chasing down staff to ensure corporate deadlines met
  • ensuring internal budgets and policies are adhered to
  • organising and facilitating leadership team meetings
  • arranging team meetings and socials
  • coordinating the annual performance appraisal process
  • tracking performance management issues
  • collating monthly recognition awards 
  • updating MS Teams site
  • acting as an escalation point for complex queries
  • People Strategy & Engagement

    LEADING BUSINESS SUPPORT TEAM BEECH

    Team Lead for Beech Business Support Team of 11, providing guidance and support

  • Line Management to 6 members of the team
  • Management of task allocations, cover support and partner support
  • Escalation point for complex queries from Partners and team members
  • Organise and facilitate regular team meetings and team socials
  • Provide guidance, coaching and reassurance to team
  • Performance management check-ins with Specialists and regularly touch base with all team members
  • Distributing messages on deadlines, policy changes etc
  • Ensuring team are adhering to corporate guidelines and policies 

Qualifications

Skills/Personal Qualities:

• A good level of secretarial and administrative experience, preferably in a large organisation
• Line Management experience of junior members of staff
• Confidence to push back and to the right thing not the easy thing.
• Experience of working within a business support team
• Broad knowledge of complex diary management
• Relationship builder, friendly and personable with a positive outlook
• Computer literate with excellent MS Office skills especially Outlook, Word and PowerPoint
• Smartly presented and confident with a professional manner
• Proactive, with a commitment to quality, accuracy and close attention to detail
• Effective communication skills (both written and verbal) with peers and senior management
• Proven planning and organisation skills with ability to work to tight deadlines
• Ability to prioritise, work under pressure to tight deadlines and adapt to change, able to prioritise and multi-task.
• Calm when working under pressure

Excellent team player with flexible and adaptable approach to work

Additional information

Benefits

• Private medical insurance
• 25 days annual leave with the opportunity to buy 5 additional days
• Company pension scheme
• Annual performance-based bonus
• Life and Income protection insurance
• Tax efficient benefits (cycle to work, give as you earn)
• Additional optional benefits (dental, critical illness, spouse/partner life assurance)

Diversity

Our approach to Inclusion and Diversity is a key enabler to our purpose - ‘Bringing Ingenuity to Life’. At PA, we are committed to creating a supportive culture where our people can thrive. To bring ingenuity to life for our clients we need people with different perspectives who think innovatively. We are on a journey to create an ever more inclusive place to work, where we all feel supported and can be ourselves.

We want our people to experience a working environment that promotes dignity, equality and respect for all.  In terms of recruitment, we believe diversity makes us a stronger firm and we look to employ people with different ideas, styles and skillsets. This diversity stimulates a rich, creative environment – one in which our people develop, and our clients enjoy enduring results. We’re committed to recruiting, promoting and rewarding our people solely based on their ability to contribute to PA’s goals, without regard to their sex, race, disability, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or marital status.

* Please note you must already have the unconditional right to live and work in the UK. We welcome international applications, but we are unable to offer sponsorship for work permits, so you will need to have the full right to live and work in the UK. Unfortunately, your application will be automatically rejected if you do not have these rights.